Camp Horizons Geothermal Project

Camp Horizons, Inc. is a private, nonprofit agency that provides year-round residential camping programs for developmentally disabled and emotionally challenged children and adults. Located on the shore of Lake Probus, in South Windham, Camp Horizons offers everything you would expect to find in a summer camp, such as swimming, horseback riding, arts and crafts, team sports and more. Specialized instructors and staff provide individualized attention to each camper's special area of need, including academic skills, socialization, personal hygiene and independence.

Families count on Camp Horizons to provide their loved ones with fun recreational and learning experiences, and the opportunity to gain independence and self-fulfillment in a safe, supportive environment. The camp's facilities are maintained and updated to exceed licensing requirements and state regulations.

As a nonprofit organization, the camp relies on creative fundraising and the help of volunteers to get things done. "Along the way we've developed a great relationship with CL&P," said President and Executive Director Chris McNaboe, who founded Camp Horizons with her sister, Kathleen McNaboe, in 1979. CL&P takes a leadership role in the Camp's Annual Day of Caring, a United Way-sponsored event. "They come out with a team of volunteers and do a tremendous amount of cleanup and maintenance work," said McNaboe.

Camp Horizons is in the midst of building its newest and most exciting facility to date, The Crossroads at Camp Horizons. The Crossroads will consist of three, handicapped accessible cabins and a health center. In addition to an initial grant to help fund The Crossroads project, CL&P provided a follow-up grant to be used specifically toward installation of the facility's geothermal heating and cooling system, the most energy-efficient, environmentally sensitive of all space conditioning systems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Geothermal systems take advantage of the earth's constant temperature, approximately 55 degrees, to heat and cool a building. By tapping into the earth's heat in the winter, and displacing heat in the earth in the summer, a geothermal system can reduce heating and cooling costs by approximately 50 percent throughout the year, compared to conventional systems. As part of CL&P's energy conservation program, Camp Horizons is now takng advantage of rebates on the system's geothermal heat pumps, as well as on the compact fluorescent lighting used throughout many of the camp's facilities.